Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Full of Wheat--Peanut Butter Cup King Cake

Howdy! I know many of my readers eat wheat and like King Cake, so this recipe is for you! I haven't posted a recipe with gluten in it for a long while now, but Mardi Gras sometimes makes me wild. If you missed it, there's a xgfx version of this cake, right here, so get off my back already.

I see the moon, the moon sees me.

This cake came out so round and moon-like. I predict this peanut butter dough would be tasty filled with cinnamon apples, pralines and a creme filling, but that's gonna be for another day.

Make the chocolate filling and stick it in the fridge while you make the dough.(Or make it ahead, and keep it covered in the fridge).

In a blender, process the milk and peanut butter until well blended.

Transfer the mixture into a small saucepan
and add the vegan butter. Warm over low heat until just melted.
Remove from heat and stir in the yogurt. Set aside briefly.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook (or in a big bowl if making by hand), add together 1 cup of the flour, cornstarch, yeast, salt and sugar. Blend together on low speed to combine.

Add the milk mixture and beat until well
combined. Beat in 1/2 cup remaining flour and mix to combine. Continue to add the remaining flour in 1/2 cup increments until the dough is soft and firm, but still a bit tacky ( you may not need to use it all).

Knead for ten minutes by hand or five with a dough hook, or until
the dough is smooth and elastic (it may remain slightly tacky).

Gather the dough into a ball and let rise in a large
bowl covered with a tea towel in a warm area, until doubled in size
about 2 hours.

Once the dough has risen, gently punch it down.

Lightly flour your counter and roll the dough out into a long rectangle about 24"X14" and between 1/8-1/4" thick (keep the wide end facing you).

Spread the chocolate filling evenly over
the dough, keeping an inch margin on both shorter sides and 1 1/2" inch
margin across the top filling free.

Scatter the remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate chips over the filling.

Carefully begin rolling the dough into a
coil, beginning at the widest bottom edge. Roll slowly and carefully,
pinching the side edges of the coil closed as you go (to prevent any
filling from oozing out). As you go, you will need to gently lift and
roll so that the mousse is not squeezed towards the top
edge.

When your coil is within 2-2 1/2" from the
top, stop rolling. Gently pick up the top edge of the uncovered dough and bring it down towards you, over the coil (this prevents the mousse from escaping via the top edge).

Pinch the long seam closed and make sure the ends of the coil are also pinched and sealed.

Ever so carefully, transfer the coil to a parchment lined baking sheet, seam side down and form an oblong ring by tucking and genty pinching the ends down and over each other (see photo below). Cover and let
rise another 30-60 minutes, while you preheat the oven to 350F.*

*Bake until the top is lightly brown about 35-45 minutes.

Cool for 20-30 minutes, then with a sharp knife carefully make a slit in the side and insert your bean baby.

Glaze the cake using one of the two
recipes below, using a small teaspoon to help evenly spread the icing (I
usually slide the cake carefully off of the parchment and onto a
cooling rack and do this over a tray or slide it onto
a tin foiled piece of cardboard, then frost). A third glaze option:
spread 1-2 tablespoons peanut butter all over the top of the warm cake,
then top with the regular icing.

Throw everything into the jar of a blender and pulverize until creamy and smooth.

Refrigerate to thicken.

W

Regular Icing

What You Need:

2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2-4 tablespoons unsweetened milk

What You Do:

Beat well to combine, adding the milk little by littleuntil thick and drizzle-able.

Peanut Butter Icing

What You Need:

1 cup powdered sugar

1/3 cup crunchy or smooth salted peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2-3 tablespoons unsweetened milk

What You Do:

Beat well to combine, adding the milk little by little until thick and drizzle-able.

Notes!
✪ This cake is much simpler and easier to make with instant yeast/Rapid
Rise. If you've never used instant yeast before, it makes baking
complicated doughs much simpler, since proofing is not necessary. You
just add the yeast to the dry ingredients and you're good to go. If you
don't have access to instant yeast, simply use the same amount of
active dry yeast, but proof it first, then add
to liquid ingredients and proceed.

✪ This cake is best served the day of baking. Leftovers should be
covered and put in the fridge.

Eating it now! So crazy good and really rich. I had one problem that may be my oven. After baking it at 375F fit about 22 minutes, it was really brown so I took it out. The middle may be a bit doughy, but it's hard to tell because there is so much filling. The filling is so great on it's own. My daughter wanted me to make more of just that. You've never steered me wrong, Kittee! :)

I made this and it was amazing! I actually liked it even better the next day - I thought the filling had more time to settle and kind of bond with the bread-cake part. It was perfect. I didn't do such a good job shaping it - it was a lopsided ring of uneven thickness - but it was delicious and everyone loved it. Thanks for posting such a thorough tutorial as well as this recipe!

These are affiliate links to my cookbook, and to the griddle I use for making really amazing, large, homemade teff injera! If you're planning to order via Amazon, please consider purchasing through my blog (I'll earn a small commission on each sale).